Cardinals avoid arbitration with Wacha, Ozuna and Leone

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Cardinals and right-hander Michael Wacha avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $6.35 million contract, a raise of $1.05 million.

St. Louis also agreed to one-year deals with outfielder Marcell Ozuna at $12.25 million and right-hander Dominic Leone at $1.26 million.

Wacha's 2018 season was interrupted by a strained muscle in his left side. Limited to 15 starts for St. Louis, he went 8-2 with a 3.20 ERA.

He was injured on June 20 and placed on the 10-day disabled list a day later. His attempt to return ended when he was placed on the 60-day DL on Sept. 10. Wacha would earn a $100,000 performance bonus this year for pitching 175 innings, a figure he has reached only once in his big league career, when he was an All-Star in 2015.

Ozuna made $9 million last year, when he hit .280 with 23 homers and 88 RBIs in his first season with St. Louis after being acquired from Miami in a trade. Leone earned $1,085,000 while going 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA in 29 appearances during his debut season with the Cardinals following a trade from the Blue Jays in January 2018.